Utilization of desulfurization gypsum potentially impairs the efforts for reducing Hg emissions from coal-fired power plants in China

Abstract

The thermal instability of most mercury (Hg) species in flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum may lead to the release of large amounts of Hg into the atmosphere. In this study, gypsum samples were collected from 13 major coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) for evaluating the Hg thermal stability within a temperature range of 100–200 °C. Results indicated that the release ratio of Hg from FGD gypsum varied considerably among the CFPPs. Such significant differences were caused by different proportions of the major Hg compounds, especially of HgClx (HgCl2 and Hg2Cl2), in the FGD gypsum samples. The release ratio appeared extremely sensitive to changes in the treatment temperature and duration. Wallboard manufacturing and its use as cement retarder are the leading causes of Hg emission (corresponding to greater than 95% of the total) during FGD gypsum resource utilization. The total average Hg emitted due to FGD gypsum resource utilization in China in 2017 was estimated to be 11.42 tons (ranging between 2.15 and 38.35 tons), which accounted for about 23.8 % (ranging between 4.6 and 79.8%) of the stack Hg emissions from CFPPs in that year. The results of this study indicate that the resource utilization processes of FGD gypsum are important Hg emission sources and that they should be considered with care in future emission control policies.